Monday, May 15, 2017

Does Western Society have a bias towards Christianity?

I feel that it does from the evidence of how Christians are treated in society in the UK. In the UK a trend of ‘christianaphobia’is rising. Christianity is accused of some amazing things and to such an extent that it turns the values of Christianity on its head. In a large circulation Regional Newspaper in England Christianity was recently accused of being the source of the 'tide of disrespect engulfing us'.

On the contrary - at a very basic level the principles of Christianity (if practiced) would ensure that peace and harmony ruled on earth as all people would act in the way Jesus Christ described (forgiving, loving etc). It is obvious however that all people have not accepted the salvation that Jesus Christ offers and that sin in the heart of humanity (as also established by Judaism) still results in evil and hurt for all concerned.The writer chose to focus on one part of the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Other records in the Gospels state that the Lord Jesus did not come to 'destroy the law' as received under Judaism but to 'fulfill it'. This means that the individual who loves the Lord God expresses this in respect of others and respect for authority. The Lord Jesus never undermined the authorities of the day and indeed he encouraged his disciples to 'render to Caesar' the things that belong to Caesar i.e. revenue, tax, civil obedience etc.

The rest of the New Testament (see Romans 13) supports the principal that Christians are expected to obey the authorities and that political powers have been ordered by God and have executive powers from God to rule (with all that that implies). I would suggest kindly that should one choose to take a closer look at the Bible (and in particular the books of Isaiah and Revelation) they would discover that the Lord Jesus Christ has promised to return to planet earth one day and that he will personally dispense summary and immediate judgment on wrongdoing and evil (Revelation 21:8). Sadly unbelief in him is one of the crimes that will qualify for his judgment. This may seem harsh but essentially unbelief is the worst crime of all because of what it leads to. God is light therefore unbelief leaves you in moral darkness. God is truth therefore unbelief leaves you with all that is false. God is life therefore unbelief leaves you with death. God is holy therefore unbelief leaves you with sin, imperfection and all that is wicked. Ultimately unbelief leads to all the grosser wicked sins that we readily accept are wrong and harmful. Thankfully today we all have the opportunity to 'believe in the Lord Jesus Christ' to be saved. On the day of judgment it will be too late.In closing I want to pass on to the readers of this blog a ‘Global Warning’ (excuse the pun). This is not about the effect of the mismanagement of our planet and its resources (important though that is) but about a longer lasting issue. This planet will come to the end of its life cycle one day, see the Bible – 2 Peter 3. However your life will never end, your body will die but your soul will live and re-inhabit a resurrected body one day. The warning is that if we do not actively get back to God then we will find that we are, on death, forever at a distance from God (and all that God is, love, justice, peace etc). How can we come to God? The answer is in honestly seeking the truth, obeying his command in the word of God. This is to repent of our sin (turn away from it) and place our personal faith in Jesus Christ.